The invention relates generally to delivery of small molecule drugs.
The term “small molecule drug,” as used herein, refers to beneficial agents having low molecular weight. The beneficial agents are usually synthesized by organic chemistry, but may also be isolated from natural sources such as plants, fungi, and microbes. The common routes for delivering small molecule drugs are oral, injection, pulmonary, and transdermal.
Many psychotherapeutic drugs are small molecule drugs and are usually provided as oral pills or bolus injections that can be administered one or more times daily. However, oral pills and bolus injections may not be optimal routes for administering small molecule psychotherapeutic drugs because of the peaks and troughs observed in plasma concentration after dosing. Adverse effects and loss of therapeutic effect have been associated with plasma concentration peaks and troughs, respectively.
From the foregoing, psychotherapy as well as other forms of therapy presently relying on small molecule drugs administered in the form of oral pills and bolus injections may benefit from a sustained release dosage form designed to minimize variations in plasma concentration following dosing. Administration of psychotherapeutic agents as sustained release formulations will also increase patient compliance.